Latest news with #VinceHall
Politico
06-07-2025
- Business
- Politico
‘We're the frontline of defense': Food banks grapple with megabill's impact
'Solving rural hunger is, by definition, much more expensive because you're moving smaller quantities of food over much longer distances to serve smaller populations,' said Vince Hall, chief government relations officer at Feeding America, the nation's largest network of food banks. Republicans have defended the cuts, arguing that the government needs to put its proverbial fiscal house in order and rid federal safety net programs of waste and fraud. They've pointed to high SNAP payment error rates, which measure how accurately states calculate food aid eligibility and benefits for households, as a prime example. 'The status quo, slap on the wrist penalties from USDA have failed at maintaining program integrity in SNAP,' House and Senate Agriculture committee chairs G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) said in a statement earlier this week. '[The megabill's] historic reforms will give states skin in the game on SNAP benefits and ensure they have a real incentive to improve oversight and stop improper payments before they happen.' While some of Republicans' changes to SNAP and Medicaid won't take effect until fiscal year 2027, food banks are expecting to see increased numbers in their lines later this year, according to Hall. For example, the megabill's expanded work requirements for SNAP participants could take effect as soon as this year, potentially kicking some families out of the program within months. SNAP-Ed, a program that provides funding to food banks for nutrition education like cooking classes and tips for how to stretch a grocery budget, will also be cut. At Feeding America West Michigan, president Kenneth Estelle says his organization is launching a major fundraising campaign in August, anticipating even higher demand prompted by SNAP cuts. Share Food Program's George Matysik said he's working closely with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to increase state resources for food banks. For example, Shapiro's budget, which the state legislature hasn't yet passed, proposes an additional $8 million for local food purchasing and emergency food assistance. 'We're the frontline of defense because there's nowhere to go for free utilities or free rent but you can get free food from your local food shelf,' said Zach Rodvold, director of public affairs at Second Harvest Heartland, a food bank in Minnesota, which recently approved a new program for food banks. It's not entirely clear all the ways in which different pieces of the megabill will interact with each other, but many anti-hunger advocates say they fear the number of people kicked out of programs like Medicaid and SNAP could be even higher than currently estimated.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Foodlink addresses federal funding cuts to USDA food assistance programs
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – On Thursday, leaders from Foodlink and Feeding America came together to discuss impacts which could come from recent federal funding cuts made to food assistance programs. Over the past three months, more than one billion dollars has been cut from the USDA, specifically affecting food and nutrition programs in schools and for pantries. Foodlink is one organization feeling the effects, with Chief Government Relations Officer for Feeding America Vince Hall explaining the dilemma FoodLink has faced along with many other food banks across the nation. 'To have orders scheduled and to have delivery dates for food, and then for that food not to show up has created an extraordinary hardship,' Hall said. Foodlink CEO and President Julia Tedesco further explained how they've experienced this exact scenario, which has resulted in them losing out on more than $600,000 worth of food originally slated for delivery this Spring. 'Not having that food is going to have a big impact on our community and ultimately result in less food getting on the shelves of food pantries and meal programs across our region,' Tedesco said. One program affected by these cuts is The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which aims to provide food to low-income families at no cost to them. Deb MacLean, who is the Manager of the Geneseo Groveland Emergency Food Pantry, explained how programs like these are needed now more than ever. 'We're seeing an increase in demand,' MacLean said. 'A lot more families are coming in, we had double the number of new families that we normally see in one month last month.' Tedesco added that the volunteers at Foodlink are now exploring options for how to ensure those who need to utilize their services are able to do so. 'We're looking for food donations, fundraising opportunities and strategic food procurement so we can continue to make sure we have a food supply for all of our community members turning to food pantries,' Tedesco said. These funding cuts are part of a larger effort by The Trump Administration to reduce government spending. Foodlink currently has opportunities on how community members can get involved and volunteer available on their website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
27-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
‘It's not realistic': New England food banks struggle to keep up with demand after federal government cuts $1 billion in funding
Related : Advertisement The uncertainty comes at a time of increasing food insecurity in New England, with many hunger relief organizations struggling to meet soaring demand. In Massachusetts, about Vince Hall, the chief government relations officer at Feeding America, said USDA officials told the organization that $500 million provided last year to support The Emergency Food Assistance Program was terminated. That's in addition to the About $3.3 million worth of food provided through the emergency food program scheduled to be delivered to Massachusetts food banks was canceled, the Greater Boston Food Bank told the Globe Thursday. Nearly $2.3 million worth, or about 105,000 cases, was slated for the Greater Boston Food Bank, the region's largest hunger-relief organization. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark condemned the cuts in a statement Thursday. 'Amid skyrocketing grocery prices, Republicans just stole more than $3 million in emergency food assistance from families across the Commonwealth — including 90,000 cartons of eggs. Nationally, they've robbed hungry families of more than $500 million in groceries," she said. Heather Paquette, the president of Good Shepherd Food Bank in Maine, said the organization was notified earlier this month that it would be losing out on $1.2 million in funding it expected to get over the next three years to help it purchase food from local farmers. Fifty percent of emergency food assistance deliveries the charity was scheduled to receive in the next several months have also been canceled, Paquette said. Advertisement 'We are already really running to meet the increasing need in the state of Maine with the stable sources of funding that we have been able to depend on for decades,' she said. 'An adjustment of that sort to the [food] we're moving through the state of Maine has significant negative impact on our ability to do our work.' Though some charities are hoping to recoup costs via private donors or state funding, the unexpected changes are likely to cause shortages in distribution, especially in the next few months. 'Because this is so sudden, we were really not planning for this, so we have to accommodate in the short term,' said Elsy Cipriani, executive director of the New Hampshire Food Bank. The organization learned two weeks ago that the close to $1 million it was set to receive over the next three years through the emergency food assistance program was canceled and is trying to minimize the impact of the cut on partner agencies. 'But again, maybe we have to make some internal adjustments in terms of the number of staff members that are working in that program,' Cipriani said, referring to the Jason Jakubowski, the president and CEO of Connecticut Foodshare, said a delivery of 34 trucks was canceled and cost the organization about $1.75 million to replace, he said. Connecticut Foodshare also learned that it would lose $1 million in funds from the LFPA earlier this month. Advertisement 'This has been a real gut punch for a number of different constituencies over the last couple of weeks. We're nervous, and so are our local pantries,' he said. Andrew Schiff, the CEO of Rhode Island Community Food Bank, said the organization ordered 24 truckloads of food with the money provided to the state through the increased TEFAP funding. As of Thursday, they had received 10 truckloads. Fourteen truckloads, amounting to about 500,000 pounds of food, are in limbo.c 'Now, at least the stories we're hearing, we're expecting it to be canceled,' Schiff said. Without federal assistance, food banks are unlikely to be able to keep up their current scale of operations. 'It's unrealistic to think that there is a way that we'll be able to accomplish the goals that every food bank in the nation has without the ability to rely on USDA funding,' Paquette said. The Good Shepherd Food Bank serves about Jakubowski said the $2.75 million that was cut from Connecticut Foodshare would amount to close to five and a half million meals. The organization is hoping the state government will help it recover some of the cost, but Jakubowski is worried the recent cuts are just the 'tip of the iceberg.' 'My biggest fear is that we're entering an era in which more people are hungry, but we have less food to provide them,' he said. 'That's the nightmare scenario for us and for our local pantries.' Advertisement Paquette said that for Good Shepherd, the 50 percent reduction in funding is 'unrealistic' to recover. 'We will do everything we can to close that gap,' said. 'But it's not realistic. We could have used an additional 10 percent versus the reduction of 50 percent, given the increased need we have in our state.' Emily Spatz can be reached at
